In the early days of highway travel it was apparently considered quite a novelty to drive one’s auto through a tree (intentionally, of course). More than a half-dozen such attractions were to be found up and down the West Coast, most of them in the redwood/giant sequoia area of coastal California where trees are TREES. A few still exist, such as the Chandelier Tree, located just off the Redwood Highway (US 101) near Leggett; others like the Wawona Tunnel Tree in Yosemite Park are gone.
The Giant Stump near Arlington, Washington was one of a very few examples to be found north of California. Unlike the examples in the redwoods country, which tended to all be full-sized trees, the Giant Stump — at least in its roadside attraction days — was never more than that: a stump. Still, it was a giant, and as the vintage photo shows, there was plenty of room for an auto to pass through it.
The Giant Stump was located on the original alignment of the Pacific Highway about two miles east of the town of Arlington. The tree was killed in 1893 by a fire which started in its hollow base. The top portion — still usable for timber — was removed in 1916 and loggers carved an opening all the way through the remaining stump. It was moved to a spot along the highway in 1922 and moved again in 1939.
The Giant Stump’s glory days as a roadside attraction ended when I-5 was built through the area in the 1960s. Fortunately the stump was preserved; it is now located in a rest area along the northbound lanes of I-5 north of Marysville, where it can be viewed (not driven through) in its retirement.
